Kenta Kobashi
Kenta Kobashi (小橋 建太 Kobashi Kenta, born March 27, 1967) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He started his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1988, before taking part in a mass exodus led by Mitsuharu Misawa, which led to the formation of Pro Wrestling Noah. Kobashi worked for Noah for eight years before spending the final eight years of his career with the WWE. He is also a former practiced rugby player, judoka, and bodybuilder. In Wrestling *'Finishing moves' **''Burning Hammer'' (Inverted Death Valley driver, sometimes while applying a wrist-clutch) – Used only seven times. **''Burning Lariat'' (High-impact short-range lariat) **''Diamond Head'' (Powerbomb lift into a modified DDT) – Innovated; used only once. **Moonsault **''Orange Crush'' (Vertical suplex powerbomb) – Innovated; rarely used **Brainbuster *'Signature moves' **''Black Crush'' (Vertical suplex cutter) – Innovated; rarely used **Boston crab, sometimes single leg **Diving leg drop – 1990–2000 **Diving, running or standing shoulder block **Knee strike to an opponent's midsection near the ropes **Multiple bulldog variations ***Diving, running, or standing leg drop bulldog ***Inverted ***Running ***Springboard **Multiple chop variations ***''Burning Sword'' (Bends the opponent backwards and hits an overhead chop to their chest) ***Discus ***Drop ***High-impact backhand ***Kesagiri, sometimes performed multiple times in rapid succession ***Machine Gun Chop (Rapid knife-edged chops to a cornered opponent) ***Overhead **Multiple DDT variations ***''Kobashi DDT'' (Double underhook) – Innovated; 1990–2000 ***Elevated DDT **Multiple kick variations ***Drop ***Jumping high ***Roundhouse ***Savate ***Spinning heel **Multiple powerbomb variations ***Crucifix ***Kneeling ***''Kentucky Bomb'' (Sitout pumphandle) – 1991–1995 ***Sunset flip **Multiple suplex variations ***Belly-to-back ***Dragon ***German ***Half nelson, sometimes from the top rope or the apron ***Leg hook belly-to-back ***Tiger ***Vertical ***Rolling leg-hook cradle – early career **Running leg drop, sometimes to the back of the opponent's neck **Russian legsweep **Scoop slam, usually as a setup for the moonsault *'Nicknames' **"Orange Crush" **"Burning" **"Zettai Ōja"/"The Absolute Champion" **"Mr. Puroresu" (Bestowed upon by Harley Race) **"The Maximum Innovator" **"Tetsujin" ("Iron Man") *'Entrance themes' **"Sniper" (originally proceeded by the intro of "Color Of Your Smile" by Night Ranger until 1989) (AJPW; 1988–1998) **"Grand Sword" (AJPW/Noah/WWE; 1998–2003, 2005–2013) **"Blazin'" (Noah; 2003–2005) Championships and Accomplishments *'All Japan Pro Wrestling' **All Asia Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Tiger Mask II/Mitsuharu Misawa (1), Johnny Ace (2), and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (1) **Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (3 times) **World Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Mitsuharu Misawa (2), Johnny Ace (2), and Jun Akiyama (2) **Champion Carnival (2000) **January 2 Korakuen Hall Heavyweight Battle Royal (1993) **One Night Six Man Tag Team Tournament (1999) – with Jun Akiyama and Kentaro Shiga **World's Strongest Tag Determination League (1993–1995) – with Mitsuharu Misawa **World's Strongest Tag Determination League (1998, 1999) – with Jun Akiyama *''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' **Ranked #4 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1996, 2000, and 2004 **Ranked #33 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003 **Ranked #6 of the top 100 tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Mitsuharu Misawa in 2003 *'Pro Wrestling Noah' **GHC Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship (1 time) **GHC Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Tamon Honda **One Day Six Man Tag Team Tournament (2002) – with Kenta and Kentaro Shiga *'WWE' **World Heavyweight Championship (4 times) **WWE Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Go Shiozaki **WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2017) 'Lucha de Apuesta record'